NFL NEWS: Mark Barron

Former Buccaneers safety Mark Barron and cornerback Darrelle Revis were both high round talents who found themselves not compatible with Lovie Smith’s system.

Revis was released in the offseason by the Buccaneers when they couldn’t find a suitable trade partner. Revis was picked up by the New England Patriots, a favored trading partner of the Bucs. They sent linebacker Jonathan Casillas packing to Foxboro the same day they moved Barron.

Revis hasn’t always been the dominant corner he was since suffering his leg injury two games into the 2012 season. When he left for the Bucs in 2013, he matched his usual 50 tackles in a season, but only had 11 passes defended and two interceptions.

Comparing his time with the New York Jets, Revis dominated the league from 2007-09 when he had a 199 combined tackles, 166 solo tackles, 64 passes defended and 14 INTs. His worst season with the Jets was in 2010 where he had 32 combined tackles, 26 solo tackles, nine passes defended, 0 INTs and 32 combined tackles in 13 games. He turned to form in 2011 with 52 combined tackles, 41 solo tackles, 21 passes defended and four INTs.

Barron, a 2012 first round pick, was drafted by former G.M. Mark Dominik, but fell out of favor with Smith as the season progressed.

The difference between Barron and Revis outside of the positions they play was that at least the Bucs have two draft picks from the St. Louis Rams whereas they got nothing for Revis. While the Bucs ended up signing former Tennessee Titan Alterraun Verner in Revis’ place.

Make no mistake, the Bucs didn’t exactly get the better end of the deal as later round picks tend to have a higher chance of getting cut from the team. While Smith and G.M. Jason Licht did inherit major remnants of Schiano’s team, the Bucs can didn’t need the salaries of Revis and Barron to be 30th in the league in pass defense.

The Tampa 2 system requires their defenders to break up passes as much as possible. Barron was not on pace to match his rookie production of 10 and only had three half way this season. The problems the Bucs have will take at least another draft to finally see who will fit in this Tampa 2 system (when they remember they can draft people outside of offense).

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About Tom

Tom Chang is a freelance journalist with a background in multimedia journalism and web publishing.
He is currently pursuing his Masters in Journalism and Media Studies from the University of South Florida St.Petersburg. He graduated in 2004 with a Bachelors Degree in Mass Communications at USF Tampa. Tom's interests include a little bit of everything from entertainment to sports.
He also wishes to delve into creative writing writing sci-fi/fantasy stories.
Tom was recently the Online Editor for USF St. Petersburg's the Crow's Nest, he joined the staff in January 2010 where he started freelance writing, photographing, copy editing and later became a staff writer. Tom’s freelance experience in journalism amassed a wide range of companies including Creative Loafing, The Focus Magazine, Lutz News, Examiner.com, and Tampa Tribune.